Build a company around a brand
Lindgren wants you to know that whether you’re aware of it or
not, the Sunkist brand is all around you.
Don’t be scared, it’s part of the plan. With Sunkist, building up
and protecting the brand is on top of the organization’s to-do list.
So, while it has lent its name to more than 600 products, ranging
from soft drinks and juice to candy, in 50 different countries, there
is a method to the madness.
“It’s a real sacred trust, it’s a brand that’s been built up over more
than 100 years, it is one of the most recognized food brands, so it’s
something we take very seriously, and our quality control and service levels have to be maintained and stay high,” Lindgren says. “My
role as CEO is to be certain that when someone has a Sunkist
brand they know they have a good, quality product, so we have a
pretty rigid system of quality enforcement. Beyond that, we are
always promoting our brand.”
That promotion, like the lemonade stands, is centered on keeping
the brand tied to its strongest and best-known elements. The basic
thing Lindgren wants to do is to keep that profile regardless of
where the brand moves. Therefore, Sunkist has implemented a
snack program where it provides sliced fruits as an alternative to
vending machine snacks. Sunkist also turned its focus to organic
fruits for the first time in 2007, a strategy that took years to plan out
but that keeps consistent with the idea of building goodwill around
the brand.
“Our main thrust was to get out and establish identity,” Lindgren
says. “The product lends itself to that; there’s nothing more wholesome than a citrus product, so you start with that, we maintain
high quality, we have a staff that’s dedicated to promoting that, and
they are constantly taking that out into the public.”
Not only does Sunkist want the consumer to see the brand as the
label of success, but Lindgren uses it as something like a company
flag to fly outside the office.
“The brand is central to everything,” he says. “We take great pride
in it, and it’s developed a great culture for us. The brand gives you
a rallying point. When you have something to build on, it’s not like
you’re starting from scratch. It’s important to understand that the
brand is sort of the banner out there to combine the emotions and
efforts of people. It becomes a really good rally point for combining people who have been in the system for a long time and the
new people coming in who can immediately attach to a pride and
a continuity.”
The idea of hanging a brand flag can work as an energizer on both
ends, too. While building a successful brand will give employees
something to believe in when times are rough, it can also act as a
starting point for upping the ante when times are good.
“It’s important that when you talk about the brand and the vision
that it isn’t just something that you do when you’re down or in
trouble,” Lindgren says. “We came off one of our best years, but we
decided to take on a major new vision wrapped around our
Sunkist brand even though we’re on top. You always need to be
improving and looking ahead, and it’s better to do that when you’re
on top than when you’re fighting from behind, so you can use that
to motivate them to keep upping the brand.”